It is the spectacular musical featuring 75 songs and more glittering outfits than even its own costume supervisor is able to count. Now Moulin Rouge! The Musical has opened at the Edinburgh Playhouse - and The Scotsman got a look behind the scenes of the spectacular performance. In the Playhouse’s vast “wardrobe village”, which costume supervisor Sabrina Cuniberto says is bigger than that of most London West End theatres, heavily sequinned and corseted costumes adorn the racks. Costume and wardrobe staff have been working on the show for the past eight months. Individual measurements of each actor - and separately their understudies - have been taken and costumes made accordingly. With many costumes tightly fitted, each one has to be specifically tailored to the performer by specialist teams from around the UK. “Nude” sections of the costumes are created to match individual actor’s skin tones. “It takes a long time [to put them together],” Ms Cuniberto says. “There are about 2,000 fabrics in the show. Everything is thought through to the last detail and everything is made, nothing is purchased.” Hanging neatly on organised rails, the vast wardrobe village also includes dozens of pairs of footwear, including the silver sequinned boots worn by leading character Satine, wigs, hats and jackets. “I’ve never counted them,” Ms Cuniberto says. “There are a lot. They’re all gorgeous and so different. Each one is for an individual scene, there are a couple which get repeated, but otherwise it’s a new outfit you see on stage every time.” Love the arts? Us too - subscribe now to our dedicated newsletter The outfits for the can-can scenes are arguably the most eye catching, with layers of coloured ruffles sewn into the skirts. “They are spectacular and they really rise up to the occasion, with this wonderful set and stunning production,” says Ms Cuniberto. “They all have their own colour scheme, so when they come out, it really is a feast for the eye, with them dancing and moving and inside, the skirts are very colourful, with layers. It’s is all aimed at this one moment of choreography. “They’re inspired by the film and the original can-can days back in the day in Paris, with a nod to couture and more contemporary fashion.” The show is in the first week of an 18-month run that will take the production around the UK, before heading to Dublin and later Zurich, in Switzerland. The run is the first leg of a world tour, full details of which have not yet been announced. Producer Carmen Pavlovich says Edinburgh was carefully selected as the first venue for the tour. The spectacular set, including the iconic windmill, has been moved in for the eight weeks of performance. “We’re excited to open in Edinburgh, it’s a lovely, vibrant city,” she says. “It’s always been important to us that we are somewhere that has deep, cultural diversity and the themes of the art and music of the show can spill out beyond the theatre and into the city. So Edinburgh felt like a really natural place for us to launch the tour.” Now, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, which has some updates from the 2003 film version, including featuring modern hits in the score, has welcomed its ten millionth audience member this week. The show is running in London’s West End, as well as the touring performance. Ms Pavlovich adds: “The film is really beloved around the world. It’s just wonderful that the audiences of Edinburgh feel so fondly about it. “I think it’s a story of deep romance and love and also hope. The story is a tragedy on the one hand, but it does have a great sense of rebirth at the end.”